It’s hard not to look at Tennessee’s football team with a more critical eye than just a few weeks ago.
Yes, the Vols made the College Football Playoff, which shouldn’t be dismissed. Yes, the Vols won 10 games, which is no small feat. But how good the 2024 season when taken in totality?
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but did Tennessee’s success result from a conference that, despite its history of dominance, wasn’t very good this season? Let that sink in a moment.
The SEC only has one team in football’s final four after Georgia was eliminated by Notre Dame on Wednesday. That leaves just Texas still alive in the playoffs – and this is the Longhorns’ first season in the conference. Had it not been for expansion, the SEC’s season would be done. There’s no arguing it: The SEC was down this season. That makes me wonder about Tennessee’s supposed improvement.
The Vols’ 10-3 record included wins over Alabama and Florida, which are longtime rivals. Don’t get me wrong, those victories should always be celebrated, but they look a bit hollow in retrospect.
The Alabama win was huge for the Vols at the time, but the Crimson Tide stumbled down the stretch, finished the season 9-4 and looked incredibly vulnerable in its 19-13 loss to Michigan. Florida was even worse.
The Gators finished the season 8-5 and, like Alabama, did not make the College Football Playoff. In fact, only three SEC teams made the inaugural College Football Playoff. So much for the talk that four – and maybe five – would be a lock to make the 12-team event. In retrospect, it seems the playoff committee got it right.
Tennessee and Georgia lost their sole game in the College Football Playoff. The troubling part for fan bases of both schools and SEC fans for that matter, is that neither game was close. The SEC’s only hope for redemption lies in a team that was recently in the Big 12.
One has to wonder if this was just a down year for the SEC or a sign of a downward turn after decades of dominance. NIL and the transfer portal have evened the playing field among those teams that have enough cash to throw around. Most SEC schools would be included in that grouping. However, there is a concern.
The SEC, by almost all accounts, didn’t not get the best television deal it could have garnered. It certainly didn’t seem to get as good of a television deal as the Big Ten. What happens when that money starts flowing as the checks are distributed next summer? Can the SEC hold its relatively tentative position as the second best conference? Will it drop behind another conference, or can the SEC actually reestablish itself as the premier conference in the nation? That remains to be seen.
Had you told me that the Vols would have won 10 games and made the College Football Playoff before the season, I would have said the season was a resounding success. However, I expected the SEC to be up to its usual snuff. Now, I’m looking at the Vols’ 2024 season with a whole different perspective.
There’s no arguing it. The state of the SEC helped the Vols notch one of their best seasons in recent memory. Tennessee had better be well aware of that because chances are the SEC won’t be down for long. If it is, well, that’s a whole new challenge when the playoffs roll around.
